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Overview

ICBC provides $68.6 million loan for GSM Mobile Network Expansion Project

Commitments (Constant USD, 2023)$137,574,820
Commitment Year•2005Country of Activity•BeninDirect Recipient Country of Incorporation•BeninSector•CommunicationsFlow Type•Loan

Status

Project lifecycle

Completion

Pipeline: PledgePipeline: CommitmentImplementationCompletion

Timeline

Key dates

Commitment date
Oct 20, 2005
First repayment (originally scheduled)
Jan 1, 2006
Last repayment (originally scheduled)
Dec 31, 2010

Stakeholders

Organizations involved in projects and activities supported by financial and in-kind transfers from Chinese government and state-owned entities

Ultimate beneficial owners

At least 25% host country ownership

Funding agencies

State-owned Commercial Banks

  • Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC)

Receiving agencies

State-owned companies

  • Bénin Télécoms S.A.

Implementing agencies

State-owned companies

  • ZTE Corporation (formerly Zhongxing Telecommunication Equipment Corporation)

Guarantors

Government Agencies

  • Government of Benin

Loan description

ICBC provides $68.6 million loan for GSM Mobile Network Expansion Project

Grace period•1 yearsGrant element•12.3905%Interest rate (t₀)•5.37125%Interest type•Variable Interest RateMaturity•6 years

Narrative

Full Description

Project narrative

In 2005, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) and Bénin Télécoms S.A. — Benin’s incumbent state-owned telecommunications operator — signed a loan agreement worth $68,638,789 (CFAF 28,902,075,774). The borrowing terms of the loan were as follows: an interest rate of LIBOR plus a 1% margin, a 6-year maturity, and a 1-year grace period. On October 27, 2005, the Government of Benin issued a sovereign guarantee for this loan. The proceeds of the loan were to be used by the borrower to finance a commercial contract with ZTE for the construction of a GSM mobile network of 156,000 lines, which was signed on November 24, 2004. As of 31 December, 2011, Benin’s Ministry of Economy reported that CFAF 8,675,205,928 had been amortized, and CFAF 20,226,869,846 was outstanding. Then, in December 2014, Benin’s Ministry of Economy reported that CFAF 19,744,650,734 had been amortized, and CFAF 7,514,778,892 was outstanding. According to the World Bank and MOFCOM's 2019 Investment Guide, this project was completed; however, its precise project implementation start and end dates are unknown.

Staff comments

1. This loan is not included in the database of Chinese loan commitments that SAIS-CARI released in July 2020. 2. The French project title is l'extenslon du réseau cellulaire mobile GSM et de celle du réseau conventionnel CDMA. 3. AidData has estimated the all-in interest rate by adding 1% to the average 6-month LIBOR rate (4.35%) in October 2005. 4. This government-guaranteed loan from ICBC does not appear to be captured in the World Bank’s Debtor Reporting System (DRS).”